


Ghosts and Loneliness

by OwlAway



Series: Something Important [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Mild Hurt/Comfort, Sibling Bonding, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-18 14:14:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18122033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OwlAway/pseuds/OwlAway
Summary: After the Agni Kai, after the war has ended, after his friends have left... Zuko visits his sister





	Ghosts and Loneliness

**Author's Note:**

> A short one that takes place almost immediately after the events of 'Something Important' but it stands alone too.

“Oh, Zu-Zu. Your friends left you _again_.”

“Azula, you need to eat,” Zuko watched the girl giggle darkly. His sister was being looked after by the finest medical minds in the country but it seemed like whatever had broken inside of her wasn’t easily fixed.

“Poor, lonely, _soft_ Zu-Zu,” She muttered to herself. “Can’t do anything without their help and now they’ve all left.”

Zuko closed his eyes and tried to refocus. He hadn't been left behind, not this time. He had sent them away with assurances that he would see them when they next visited and he was  _fine_ and they were needed elsewhere.

He was needed here. 

He held the spoon up to Azula’s mouth and she twisted her lips in disdainful scorn.

“You don’t deserve to be the Firelord.”

“Neither do you,” He said softly. "Please eat something."

Her eyes slid to look over his shoulder. He resisted the urge to look in the same direction. “Is _she_ putting you up to this?”

“Who?” He frowned. "Katara?"

“You know exactly who. Mother.”

He fought the urge to respond; Azula was just pressing his buttons again. She was trying to goad a reaction out of him  _ again _ and he wouldn’t give in. Nevertheless, he could feel the sweat at the back of his neck, and the goosebumps prickle up his arms.

She was staring angrily at the spot over his shoulder. “Leave me alone,” She hissed.

“I’m not going to leave you alone, Azula," She had to be lonely, without her friends, without their father, without anyone to be afraid of her.

“Not _you_ ,” The words practically dripped with contempt, and Zuko swallowed the hurt. He wondered if he was just a glutton for punishment, visiting his sister when his friends had left. He had no one to go to after this who would understand what he felt... That odd mixture of grief and victory.

This was what their father had done to his children. One had completely lost her mind and the other was barely holding it together.

Maybe he was just here to gloat.  _I have the throne and you don't. How does that feel?_

No, that wasn't right. That wasn't how he felt. Azula was his sister. He loved her.

He couldn’t let her die here, haunted by her own isolation.

“Mother would want you to eat something,” He said softly and her eyes snapped back to him. “She loved you too.”

“That’s what she keeps _saying_ ,” Her eyes were wide now, almost fearful. “But I just want her to leave me alone.”

“Please eat something,” Zuko repeated softly.  She looked so sick and she could barely lift her own limbs. Deep, dark circles had embedded themselves under her once-bright eyes and her lips were chapped from thirst. “You’re still second in line for the throne. How can you lead the Fire Nation if you’re dead?”

It was wrong of him to feed the ambitious side of her. It was feeding her illness... But she let him spoon the soup into her mouth.  The relief made him dizzy and he gave her a warm smile. 

Unfortunately, this only seemed to agitate Azula and she slapped the bowl from his hands in the most significant show of strength he’d seen from her in days.

“Don’t do that,” She snapped. “You look like a child.”

He frowned. “I’m sorry, Azula,” He bent to pick up the bowl and sighed mournfully at the scattered soup. “I’ll get someone to come and clean this up.”

“Take her with you.”

Azula was looking at the empty corner of her room again, and Zuko paused. "I can't," He didn’t know what she was seeing, not for sure, but he had suspicions. “There’s nothing there Azula.”

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the quickest I've probably ever written and posted something but I wanted to, so there we go. I have three other ideas for one-offs before getting into the next multi-chapter one, so we'll see how things go.


End file.
